Audi’s di Grassi Sets fastest time on opening day of testing in R18 hybridLucas di Grassi set the fastest time in the opening day of testing for the 61st Mobil 1 Twelve Hours of Sebring for Audi Sport, a lap of 1:46.262 (126.706 mph) in the No. 2 Audi R18 e-tron quattro hybrid prototype.

The Brazilian, a past Formula One regular and current test driver for Pirelli, is driving in the U.S. for the first time in 19 years when the American Le Mans Series presented by Tequila Patr¢n opens its season Saturday. Di Grassi is paired with Tom Kristensen and Allan McNish, who have a combined 10 overall Sebring victories to their credit – including last year.

Discover Card now acceptedWe are happy to announce that addition to Visa and MasterCard, AutoRacing1.com now accepts Discover and all of their of their global brands, such as Diners Club, International, JCB and China UnionPay, for both new subscriptions as well as renewals.

Swiss watch manufacturer TAG Heuer will continue to supply the official timepiece for the Vodafone McLaren Mercedes F1 team, and the partnership will be extended to include McLaren Automotive. The partnership will support McLaren's "Young Driver Development Program," a program to identify and support young drivers. As part of the new partnership, driver Sergio Perez will be an ambassador for the Swiss brand, together with teammate Jenson Button. The TAG Heuer logo will be visible on the rear spoiler of McLaren cars, as well as on the drivers' suits and team apparel. McLaren Mercedes

F1 CEO Bernie Ecclestone will fly into Melbourne this week facing calls to cut his £23M ($34.2M) race fee "to save the future of the Australian Grand Prix," according to Kevin Eason of the LONDON TIMES.

Ecclestone will meet Victoria state Government new premier Denis Napthine, who finances "one of the most popular races on the calendar." Napthine is "up against a taxpayer revolt" after it was revealed that Ecclestone is charging a £23M fee for the rights to hold the race, which meant that the Australian government had to pick up a bill for £39M ($58.1M) "including the costs of setting up the Albert Park circuit in the city."

The '15 race will be the last in Melbourne unless Napthine "can win a deal that will head off the criticism from protest groups" that have provided a backdrop to recent grand prix. London Times

NBC will "pre-empt its Sunday morning staples 'Today' and 'Meet the Press' this May to show the Monaco Grand Prix live" on May 26 at 7:30am ET, according to Tripp Mickle of SportsBusiness Journal.

The telecast "marks the first time the famed race will be aired live on U.S. broadcast TV." NBC Sports Group President of Programming Jon Miller said, “Monaco captures what Formula One is. It’s got the glamour and the celebrities.”

Ecclestone knows European countries cannot afford F1 anymore. It's the socialist way that brings everyone down to the lowest common denominator

Rumors and talks of a possible return of F1 to Austria, France, Turkey and a proposed new road course in Greece have sparked hopes of European F1 fans that the racing series would increase its number of European races in the future and return to where it all started more than 60 years ago.

However, F1 CEO Bernie Ecclestone shut down those speculations when he said, “We have to be careful we don’t have too many events in Europe because Europe isn’t what it was, in general.” Right or wrong, Ecclestone’s statement may well explain why Europe has lost its favorite motorsports series, F1, to the rest of the world in recent years. When F1 started in 1950, the championship consisted of seven races, with only one outside of Europe. Oddly enough, it was the Indianapolis 500 in the U.S. The ’13 F1 season, which will start on Sunday with the Australian Grand Prix, includes 19 races and 12 of them will be staged outside of Europe.

Strong 30-Car Field Set to Open the USF2000 2013 Season at SebringPALMETTO, Fla. – The Cooper Tires USF2000 Championship Powered by Mazda will return to Sebring International Raceway in Sebring, Fla., this week to open its seven-event, 14-race, 2013 season. An eagerly awaited pair of races will be held on March 14/15 in support of the American Le Mans Series and the 61st Annual Mobil 1 Twelve Hours of Sebring Fueled by Fresh from Florida with a quality field of 30 drivers on the first step of INDYCAR’s Mazda Road to Indy ready to challenge on the 3.74-mile, 17-turn road course.

“I couldn’t be more excited about the exceptional group of drivers we have on deck this year, from returning drivers who are poised to shine to a new group of rookies – many with familiar names – who bring solid credentials to the table,” said Dan Andersen, Owner and CEO of Andersen Promotions, the series promoter. “It’s been a busy off-season for all of us at Andersen Promotions and we are more than ready to go racing. To start our season in support of such a prestigious and well-attended event as the Twelve Hours of Sebring is tremendous, and we look forward to some great racing.”

Sebring Returns to SPEED to Open 2013 ALMS SeasonThe American Le Mans Series presented by Tequila Patr¢n returns to SPEED next week for its 2013 season opener. Television’s leading motorsport channel will air 10.5 hours of the 61st Mobil 1 Twelve Hours of Sebring Fueled by Fresh From Florida on Saturday, March 16.

The 15th season of the ALMS features 41 sports cars among five classes. Each will test their mettle around 3.74-mile, 17-turn Sebring International Raceway. The circuit has a long history of testing both drivers and teams over the last six decades. Much of that is due to the rough-and-tumble nature of the circuit that features a mix of asphalt surface along with concrete sections that date back to the facilities days as a World War II B-17 training base originally known as Hendricks Field.

NBC Sports Network announces 2012 IndyCar TV schedule detailsNBC Sports Network will start the 2013 IZOD IndyCar Series on Sunday, March 24 in St. Petersburg, Fla. This year, the network will air a record 13 races live, the most in the channel's four-year history as the cable home of IndyCar (up from nine in 2012). The increase is largely due to the innovative addition of two doubleheaders in Toronto and Houston, which provide two races over two days from one location.

COMMENTATORS: NBC Sports Network's coverage will feature a new look this year. Lead race announcer Leigh Diffey, in his first year covering the IndyCar Series, will be joined by returning race analyst and former NASCAR driver Wally Dallenbach, Jr. (analyst), and newcomer to the booth, IndyCar driver Townsend Bell.

TONY KANAAN, NO. 11 KV RACING TECHNOLOGY CHEVROLET, met with members of the media at Barber Motorsports Park and discussed working with Simona de Silvestro, expectations for the season and other topics. Full transcript:

ABOUT THE NEW SPONSOR THIS YEAR: “We haven’t announced it yet, but we’re going to have a few new sponsors I think. That’s what we need to do to survive.”

ARE YOU GETTING ALONG WITH SIMONA DE SILVESTRO?: “She’s awesome. I already had a female teammate before so I’m used to getting out of the truck when they need to get changed. It happened before. She’s awesome. It’s the best opportunity she had in IndyCar so far so looking forward to work with her and help her out whenever she needs. Not just Simona (de Silvestro) needs a good result, but the series as well having her and her personality coming out more often will help us out too.”

JR HILDEBRAND, NO. 4 NATIONAL GUARD PANTHER RACING CHEVROLET, met with members of the media at Barber Media Day and discussed testing, standing starts, teammate Oriol Servia and other topics. Full Transcript:

HOW MUCH TESTING HAVE YOU HAD SO FAR?“Very little we did a day at Sebring last year and did what turned out to be not much of a day unfortunately at Sonoma a couple of weeks ago. We have the great fortune of working much more closely with Dreyer Reinbold Racing this year and Oriol Servia so for the days that we have had go awry he has had some good days. Looking forward to getting here hopefully getting out on a dry track for a couple of days and more than anything really try to sort of solidify that relationship and transparency with Dreyer Reinbold Racing or Panther DRR as they are called now. Last year it was something that happened midseason that we sort of joined together and I think because of that it wasn’t as streamlined of an operation as we all really needed for it to be. I think there were a lot of times you could argue that it made things more complicated than really helped us figure anything out. Having the off season to kind of iron those wrinkles out and with Tino Belli coming from Andretti Autosport as technical director to kind of oversee that whole element of the operation I think will be a pretty big gain going into this year.”

RYAN HUNTER-REAY, NO. 1 DHL ANDRETTI AUTOSPORT CHEVROLET, met with members of the media at Barber Motorsports Park and discussed being the defending Series champion, changes at Andretti Autosport, having four cars in 2013 and other topics. Full Transcript:\

Q. How was Atlanta?

RYAN HUNTER-REAY: It was interesting. It was usual Atlanta, unfortunately.

ED CARPENTER, NO. 20 FUZZY'S PREMIUM ULTRA VODKA ED CARPENTER RACING CHEVROLET, met with members of the media at Barber Motorsports Park and discussed additions to his team, testing so far this season and other topics. Full transcript:

ANYTHING NEW FOR THIS YEAR?

“No, everything is pretty much the same. We added one new assistant engineer that we didn’t have last year but other than that, everything should go pretty much the same as last year. The car hasn’t changed; the people haven’t changed, so we are just trying to carry on from where we left off. It was nice to have a real offseason because last season we didn’t really get to do much preparation specifically for different races and we were just getting ready to go, so as a group, I think we feel much more prepared coming into this year. Hopefully we will be able to get up to speed a little quicker.”

AJ ALLMENDINGER, NO. 2 IZOD TEAM PENSKE CHEVROLET, met with members of the media at Barber Motorsports Park and discussed being with Team Penske for two races, having Helio Castroneves and Will Power as teammates, driving both a NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Chevrolet SS race car and an IZOD IndyCar Series Chevrolet-powered race car during the season and other topics. Full transcript:

HOW DIFFERENT IS THIS CAR FROM THE LAST INDYCAR THAT YOU DROVE? IS THERE LESS POWER AND MORE DOWNFORCE?: “Well, it’s a lot different than what I’ve been driving for the last seven years, I can tell you that. After I drove it at Sebring I was like, ‘Maybe it will all come back natural to me.’ It felt like I was riding a unicycle. I almost forget what it feels like to drive a Champ car -- it’s been so long.

WILL POWER, NO. 12 VERIZON TEAM PENSKE CHEVROLET, met with members of the media at Barber Motorsports Park and discussed the upcoming season, working with AJ Allmendinger and other topics. Full transcript:

WHAT DO YOU HAVE TO DO TO MOVE UP JUST A LITTLE FARTHER?: “Just get four points. I just need to score four more points. It’s not really to change much. We made changes within the team and had a relaxing off-season. I’ve never seen a team work so hard in the off-season really. Me personally as well so all we can do is bring what we’ve got, do our absolute best. My approach to the season is really no different than it’s been the last three years. Just going to keep chipping away and hopefully at some point we can get the thing done.”

SIMONA DE SILVESTRO, NO. 78 NUCLEAR ENTERGY AREVA KV RACING TECHNOLOGY CHEVROLET, met with members of the media at Barber Motorsports Park and discussed her new opportunity at KV Racing Technology,

NEW TEMMATE, NEW TEAM AND SOMEWHAT A NEW SPONSOR?

“So yes, everything is new and this is the first time that I have changed teams in my IndyCar history and joining KV Racing Technology is something pretty exciting. You know, I think they are a really strong team and hopefully we can have some really good results this season and having a teammate like TK (Tony Kanaan) is the first time I am having a teammate so it’s a bit strange. You know you have to learn to kind of share things and I think we are starting to learn how to do that, especially on my side. It’s really exciting especially having the New Clean Air Campaign that is still with me. You know after the season we had last year it was really difficult but they believed in me and chose to stick with me and that is something real important for me.”

SEBASTIAN SAAVEDRA, NO. 6 DRAGON RACING CHEVROLET, met with members of the media at Barber Media Day and discussed driving for Dragon Racing, how he has adapted to the new car and other topics. Full Transcript:

HOW DO YOU THINK TAKING A STEP BACK TO COMPETE IN THE INDYCAR SERIES THIS SEASON IS GOING TO HELP YOU?“It was a huge decision for sure. It was a decision made together with Gary Peterson in the way that course the deal was to build up to move a full season AFS Racing, but for me it was even greater because it was my future in a way. It was a tough decision to make, but at the end now I see that it was the right way to go, not rush it. I think that was my problem in 2010. I think we tried rushing it too much. After a great season in (Indy) Lights, but at the end still 22 years-old I think that is a good way to think back, sit down, breathe and take another go at it. It’s working.”

MARCO ANDRETTI, NO. 26 RC COLA ANDRETTI AUTOSPORT CHEVROLET, met with members of the media at Barber Media Day and discussed what he did in the off season to improve his skills on the street courses, testing and other topics. Full Transcript:

TELL US A LITTLE BIT ABOUT WHAT YOU ARE LOOKING TO GET OUT OF THIS TEST COMING UP THIS WEEK AND HOW YOU ARE PREPARING FOR THE SEASON COMING UP:“I guess this test is primarily geared just toward obviously all the road courses. Sometimes when you find something good here you can take it to like a Sonoma or Mid-Ohio sometimes not it’s a finicky place as well. Obviously we race here so it would be good to come up with some kind of a good package for here. (James) Hinch (Hinchcliffe) ran good here last year in qualifying so we have a good starting point anyway just try to build on that.”

ORIOL SERVIA, NO. 22 PANTHER DREYER AND REINBOLD RACING CHEVROLET, met with members of the media at Barber Motorsports Park and discussed starting the season with Chevrolet, working with JR Hildebrand and other topics. Full transcript:

ON STARTING THE SEASON KNOWING THE POWER IN YOUR CAR: “It really is the biggest difference for us. The way we approached last year, we had a new car like everybody else, but we had really no testing to learn the car. We thrown into the lions a little bit without really knowing the weapons we had and it showed. It was a really, really tough start to the season and it was only when we got Chevy for the first time in Indy that we obviously had a great race.

HELIO CASTRONEVES, NO. 3 HITACHI/SHELL V-POWER/PENNZOIL ULTRA TEAM PENSKE CHEVROLET met with members of the media at Barber Motorsports Park and discussed having AJ Allmendinger join Team Penske, working with two teammates, changes to Team Penske and other topics. FULL TRANSCRIPT:

Q. Allmendinger says you have the second best looking hair.

HELIO CASTRONEVES: Well, you be the judge when we finish the race and we take the helmet off. I think that will be answer.

JAMES HINCHCLIFFE, NO. 27 GODADDY.COM ANDRETTI AUTOSPORT CHEVROLET, met with members of the media at Barber Motorsports Park and discussed the new tracks that were added to this year’s schedule, the important of being with the same team and other topics. FULL TRANSCRIPT:

WHAT IS YOUR PERSONAL OPINION ON SOME OF THE NEW TRACKS THAT HAVE BEEN ADDED TO THE SCHEDULE FOR THIS SEASON?“I’m very excited about some of the new tracks especially Pocono because it’s just so different. It’s such a unique track. Indy cars haven’t been there in a long time so it will be a new thing for everybody. A bit of an even playing ground, I think it’s going to be very good for our cars. I think the racing has got a lot of potential. Houston is new to this calendar, but some of us have driven it before in its previous life as a Champ Car track. That will be interesting to see how that one turns out. It was a little bit rough the last time we were there, so hopefully they have made some improvements. Certainly, Pocono I think is the new event on the calendar that everybody is really excited about.”

Bridgestone Announces Alliance With DeltaWing Racing Cars for 2013 Season

NASHVILLE, Tenn. – Bridgestone Americas Tire Operations (Bridgestone Americas) today announced its 2013 alliance with DeltaWing Racing Cars as a one-car entry in the 2013 American Le Mans Series. Bridgestone will supply Potenza tires for the select races in which DeltaWing chooses to compete during the 2013 ALMS season.

The DeltaWing features the racing performance of contemporary Le Mans race cars, but is differentiated by its far better efficiency, consuming only half of the fuel and tires of today’s more traditional race cars, and using only half of the power, aerodynamic drag and weight. In recent months, the car has received a number of awards and accolades. Autosport Magazine awarded the DeltaWing its “Pioneering and Innovation Award,” and Popular Science presented the DeltaWing with its “Best of What’s New” Award.

Formula 1, DHL Deliver Global Partnership ExtensionDHL and F1 have announced an extension to their global partnership, which will see DHL maintain its official logistics and global partner designations. The partnership officially began in ‘04. DHL will also continue to sponsor the DHL Fastest Lap Award in recognition of the driver who produces the highest number of fastest laps throughout each F1 World Championship season (F1).

Meanwhile, NBC today will announce plans pre-empt its Sunday morning staples “Today” and “Meet the Press” on May 26 to show the Monaco Grand Prix live. The telecast, which will air at 7:30am ET, marks the first time the race will be aired live on U.S. broadcast TV. SportsBusiness Journal

NASCAR Drivers Praise Gen-6 Car After Its First 1.5-Mile RaceThe NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Kobalt Tools 400 yesterday featured "an event-record 31 green-flag passes for the lead, the most in 16 Cup races" at Las Vegas Motor Speedway. In just the third race with the series' new Gen-6 car, there "were 2,342 green-flag passes overall, while last year's event had 1,301 passes throughout the field." Driver Kasey Kahne said, "I felt like I could pass, I could race underneath (other cars) -- do things that maybe I wouldn't have been able to do in the past. First time on a mile-and-a-half (track) with this new Gen-6 ... I had a lot of fun driving it." Las Vegas Review-Journal

The CHARLOTTE OBSERVER's Jim Utter writes, "The quality of racing at the end of the race ... was some of the best I’ve seen." Utter: "Will we see something similar when NASCAR visits its next 1.5-mile track in April at Texas? Who knows? But it was a good start." THATSRACIN.com

Chicagoland Speedway set to confirm MillerCoors renewalChicagoland Speedway is poised to announce a multi-year extension to its sponsorship deal with brewing giant MillerCoors on Monday, according to Danny Ecker of Crain’s Chicago Business.

The new agreement, which also covers the adjacent Route 66 Raceway drag-racing venue, will see Miller Lite remain as the official beer of the venue, a title it has held since 2001.

Miller’s inclusion at Chicagoland includes naming rights to the Miller Lite Pit Stop beer garden and the Miller Lite Turn 1 Party Deck, as well as other signage around the venue. "It's a perfect fit for us," Chicagoland Speedway president Scott Paddock told Ecker. "They're an industry leader and we love doing business with companies in our backyard."

Plenty of passing with Gen 6 car in Las VegasNASCAR's new Gen-6 Sprint Cup race car racked up some impressive statistics in Sunday's race. The official race reports reads 22 lead changes among eight drivers, with the 22 lead changes being the most at Las Vegas since 2007, the year before the Gen-5 car (Car of Tomorrow) was introduced at intermediate race tracks. Beyond those numbers, NASCAR's loop data (stats measured at the 10 scoring loops around the 1.5-mile track) showed a phenomenal 2,342 green-flag passes throughout the race, compared with 1,301 last year. In addition, there were 31 green-flag passes for the lead (including intra-lap passes scored at loops other than the finish line), the most since NASCAR started recording loop data in 2005. NASCAR Wire Service

Sunday's flyover could be the last for a whileSunday's military flyover before the Kobalt Tools 400 might have been the last flyover at a NASCAR race. With $85 billion in federal budget cuts possibly going into effect soon, flyovers would be grounded by the government's sequestration process, which includes about 30 percent in military budget cuts. "The Thunderbirds are expected to stand down effective April 1. (Las Vegas) is pretty much going to be, I think, the last flyover you'll see for a while from us," Wendy Varhegyi, chief of the engagement division for Air Force public affairs, told USA Today Sports. Varhegyi said the cutbacks would last at least through the end of the fiscal year (Sept. 30). "And then at that point, we'll reevaluate. & Sequestration is a 10-year problem, so we just don't know." The Air Force conducts about 1,000 flyover per year, Varhegyi said. Sporting News

MWR hires models for Social Media Engagement effortsThe face of Michael Waltrip Racing's social media engagement is getting a new look that began Sunday at Las Vegas Motor Speedway. Each NASCAR Sprint Cup race day, a team of digitally savvy models will roam the garage, infield, sponsor midway and hospitality areas to interact with NASCAR fans. The uniformed ladies will also lead a concerted social media effort from the track in 2013 in support of MWR's team initiatives and sponsors. Fans can interact with them via twitter by using the handle @MWRGirls. Uniquely, one of the @MWRGirls is Miss Florida Latina, speaks fluent Spanish and will lead MWR's effort to take the MWR/NASCAR experience to the Latino audience. Waltrip said over the years he noticed almost all of the social media communication from race teams is about cars, pit strategy, and the drivers. Instead, the @MWRGirls will take fans to a variety of events on race day, share insider information and show the magnitude of NASCAR Sprint Cup races. MWR

Lotus F1 Team 2013 F1 Season TrailerWarning: this film contains flashing images. We're well known for doing everything just that little bit differently, and our 2013 season trailer is no exception. With help from the legendary Ridley Scott Associates, starring Kimi Räikkönen and Romain Grosjean, we're starting our official F1 countdown to the Australian Grand Prix. Please take your seats. It's #ShowTime.

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